Forum: What’s a good Republican to do?

By Edward L. Marcus

Published 6:28 pm, Thursday, August 18, 2016

There are a substantial number of people who automatically vote Republican. Perhaps many of them think about “cheating” every now or then, but when push comes to shove they can be counted upon to support the GOP.

I believe that this year, a significant number of solid Republican voters will leave the reservation because of the irrational behavior of Donald Trump.

Trump has proven himself to be a congenital liar who will, in addition to lying, deny what he actually said or deny that he ever meant the untrue statement. The fact that his words have been captured by TV cameras around the globe does not seem to dissuade him. Trump has become a password for bigotry, divisiveness, hatred, and, overall, a campaign that makes one think of a certain German chancellor and how he took over Germany. Trump is a man who literally will say anything that runs through his mind. Clearly, he is somewhat unhinged.

My only personal contact with Trump was at a Super Bowl game in Miami on January 22, 1989. My tickets came from Maurice Castellano. (His wife was a Velardi, of the Velardi Pipe Companies, and his niece at one point was married to Robin Williams.) Castellano was friendly with Robert Irsay, owner of the Colts, and our seats were on the 30-yard line 20 rows up … pretty, pretty good. The Bengals were playing against the San Francisco 49ers. Elbert “Ickey” Woods was great. I had bet on the Bengals (the statute of limitations has passed; I confess I won on the point spread) and my wife, Jill, and I, along with our friends Jim and Joanne Civatello (owner of Enson’s Menswear, New Haven), were in pig heaven.

Our enjoyment was marred only by a real loudmouth ten rows or so behind us, complaining incessantly about his seats. After about five minutes of listening, I finally turned around and said, “Shut up.” During the ensuing applause, the loudmouth — that is, Mr. Trump — disappeared. That minimal contact showed me Trump is a spoiled brat who had great seats but they weren’t on the 50-yard line, only the 30 … and just not good enough for him.

So what is it that long-term Republicans should do? A friend of mine, who is a five-term Republican member of his Town Council, recently wrote an opinion piece saying he would put a sign on his lawn proclaiming “Republicans for Clinton.” That certainly is an approach that Clinton supporters, including myself, would love. But it may be a stretch for some.

However, if I were a Republican, I would certainly concede: Trump is in over his head; his personality is repugnant; and his attempt to build a constituency through divisiveness, hatred and lies makes him an unsupportable candidate for president. I would remind myself that while voting libertarian or Green Party may send a message, those candidates will not win, so why waste my vote? And not voting is just plain wrong.

I don’t think that anyone seriously believes or can argue that Hillary Clinton could not do the job as president. At this point of her life, she is almost unflappable. She has been though crisis after crisis and is someone you can trust with the nuclear button.

I guess the answer is this: if you love your country, if you don’t want a tyrant to become president, if you want America to continue to prosper and not become a laughing stock around the world, you should vote for Hillary Clinton. There really is no other choice.